What are Murdas? All you need to know

The hands have tremendous healing power as stated in the Atharva Veda and many people have received energy from the hands of shamans and healers and have been relieved or cured of their ailment. The hand is the interface between the brain and the 3D material world; when we use them as a tool to aid in meditation, we can reach elevated states of awareness with full focus. This happens within a shorter timeframe than when we are not holding mudras while meditating. Your body responds better to your instructions when you’re holding mudras after the ritual of intention setting.

Close your eyes and slowly walk through your space. Do you notice how your hands have now become your second pair of eyes? They give you a sense of which direction to take intuitively, without any info inputs from the visual cortex and the hands lead you from point A to point B telling your brain what it needs to know to make informed choices. Now imagine putting this second pair of eyes to work some magic!

What is a mudra? Essentially it means a “seal”!

Have you seen those Bharatnatyam and kathak dancers hold positions with their fingers? Those are mudras. When the dancer holds a position of the hands, she does it to convey meaning. When we hold mudras initiating contact with the divine energies, we convey to them certain meanings and intentions.

The divine energies react with these hand positions to manifest our heart’s desire. You ask, does the divine not know what is in our hearts? Yes, of course. But when you hold a mudra to convey your desire, it shows a determined focus and things tend to manifest quicker.

For instance, when you feel threatened you can make a tight fist with the thumb sticking out, keep your spine erect and observe your breath. You should chant I AM PROTECTED; I AM SAFE and see how this simple practice will keep you sheltered during a storm.

The divine is not outside, the divine resides within. When you hold mudra to a deity, you’re signaling your intention to your own unconscious as that deity is within. The void of possibilities begins to take forms of what you seek to manifest and before you know it, et voila! The life you dreamt of or the person you wanted is now yours!

Mudras are not overt, the hand gestures we term as mudras are in fact positions, we often hold unconsciously throughout the day. Have you seen the Goddess in the pandal? How does she raise her hand and show you the abhaya mudra? That is the mudra of fearlessness. If ever you feel cowardly, then this mudra will remove that fear. Fear is after all, false evidence appearing real! Then what is true and what is false?

Just hold out your middle fingers and lock the rest in a tight fist and breathe deeply keeping your spine erect and watch how your disturbed mind becomes calm and can now focus with single minded determination. But how does this happen? Can your physical and mental and spiritual stage be altered by holding hand gestures? Can it be that simple? Well, it’s not. There are 72,000 nadis or subtle energy channels in the body, with seven primary chakras that are responsible for our growth and development and wellbeing, but with time, addictions, grief, suffering and negative emotions, these energy vortices can get clogged. Without going into a dissertation on the geometry and circuitry of the body, it’ll suffice to mention that mudras help energy flow in the body.

There are thousands of mudras that one can use, but their benefits are best realized with proper pranayama and tratak. Tratak is the act of gazing without blinking and when all of these practices are combined, they become extremely effective and therapeutic.

Our ancient sages taught us these techniques for our betterment, individually and collectively. Mudras can be classified into the five basic categories. The categories are yogic, spiritual, curative, religious, and customary.

The human body is composed of five elements – fire, air, water, space and earth and one must make sure they’re in harmony and balance. If you can keep the elements balanced, then you’re healthy, happy, blissful and creative and mudras is the easiest and most effective way to make sure that the pancha tattvas remain balanced for our optimal performance through life. Why not just try it?

The article has been authored by Tina Mukerji, a soul guide working with Astrology, Tarot, Psychism, Yoga, Tantra, Breathwork and Mantras. She works to discover the inherent archetypes, by studying astrological charts.